Automatic chair-mat for cross-jetty work



No. 620,584. Patented Mar. 7, i899. W. H. HARRELSUN. AUTOMATIC CHAIR MATFun cnoss JETTY WORK.

(Application fd may 24, 159s.)

(No Mddel.)

. .MENEN @WEEE UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

WILLIAM II. HARRELSON, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

AUTOMATIC CHAIR-MAT FOR CROSS-JETTY WORK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 620,584, dated March 7,1899.

Application filed May 24, 1898. Serial No. 681,564. (No model.)

T0 all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. HAREEL- SON, of Kansas City, Jacksoncounty, Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAutomatic Chair-Mats for Cross-Jetty Work, of which the following is aspeciiication.

My invention relates to automatic chairmats for cross-jetty work; and myobject is to produce a device of this character which can be built andproperly disposed in the stream at a comparatively small expense, whichis of simple and durable construction, and which automaticallyaccommodates itself to the bed of the stream, and consequently preventsthe water from cutting under the structure, and thus destroying itsefficiency.

Vith this object in view the invention consists in certain novel andpeculiar features of construction and combinations of parts,as will behereinafter described and claimed, and in order that it may be fullyunderstood I will proceed to describe it with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents the chair-matproperly disposed with relation to the bed of the stream. Fig. 2represents a perspective view of the chair-mat.

In practice it is desirable to build these mats in sections of fromtwenty to fifty feet in length in order that the work of disposing themin the stream maybe facilitated; but it is to be understood, of course,that I do not confine myself to any particular length or to any numberof mats employed in any particular piece of Work, it being sufficient toexplain that where a plurality of mats are employed they are to befitted together endwise and preferably lashed to each other.

In the said drawings the seat portion of the mat consists of theparallel longitudinal logs 1 and 2 and the transverse or end logs 3,vthe latter preferably resting upon and lashed to the former by means ofwire loops et, said loops being of the type illustrated and described inmy Patent No. h77?, granted February 18, 1896, on method of bracing andlashing riprap and jetty-work, reference to which is hereby made for afull understanding of the same. In order to stiften this frame, I employadditional transverse logs or bars 5, which also rest at their oppositeends upon the longitudinal logs 1 and are lashed theretoby loops 4. Theend logs or bars 3 are also connected at intervals of about a foot, moreor less, by the wires 6, which extend above the intermediate logs orbars 6, that the latter' may relieve them of the greater part of theweight which the seat must sustain, and to give the rectangular framerigidity I preferably employ the intersecting or obliquely-extending tiewires or rods 7, which are lashed or otherwise suitably secured attheirends to the corners of the frame by preference. The back of thechair-mat consists of a plurality of upright logs or timbers 8, whichare iitted in the crotches formed at the intersection-points of log 2and the logs or bars 3 and 5 and the longitudinal log or timber 9, whichconnects the upper ends of the uprights 8 and is secured to the same atthe points of intersection by means of loops 4, and extending parallelwith said log or timber 9 and preferably at intervals of a few inchesare wires 10, said wires being secured in any suitable manner at theiropposite ends to the end uprights 8. This back is secured reliably butpivotally to the log or timber 2 of the seat portion by means of loops4, as shown, to the end that the seat portion may operate pivotally whennecessary to accommodate a deepening of the channel, and thereby preventthe stream from cuttingunder the, seat portion, as will be presently eX-plained, and in order to make the connection between the seat and theback portion of the mat reliable the top log or timber 9 of the latteris connected to the former by the tie-rods 11, the latter consistingoriginally of loops connecting said parts and tensioned to the requisitedegree by the insertion of a bar'or lever 12 through each loop in orderto twist it at points intermediate of the logs 9 and 2 and of saidtwisting bar or lever, as shown at 13.

Preliminary to placing the chair-mats in position a row of piles 11i areerected at suitable distances apart along the line to be occupied by thechair-mats, and secured to the front side of the piling in a directionsubstan- AIOC) tially parallel with the bed of the stream arelongitudinal connecting timbers or logs 15, these timbers or logs beingsecured to the piling by means of loops 16, (like loops 4, if desired,)as shown, or in any other suitable manner, and to the top pole or timber9 ofthe chair-back by means of loops 17 or equivalent means. The timbers15 are so disposed that when the chair-mats are drawn out in the riverand deposited at the proper points the vtopi logs or timbers 9 of thechairbacks bear against the front side of the piling and the under sideof the timbers 15. Consequently the tendency of the stream is to holdthe chair-mat reliably in position. The log or timber 2 also bearsagainst the piling along the bed of the stream, as shown in Fig. 1, andthe seat portion rests upon the bed of the stream, as also shown inFig. 1. Previous to placing these chair-mats in position it ispreferable to weave branchesor small limbs of trees, cornstalks, orother suitable material into the longitudinal wires of the seat portion,as illustrated in Fig. 2, and it may also be desirable to lash a bunchof branches or equivalent material to and belowy the front log or timber1 of the seat portion, as shown in Fig. 2, as these branches orcornstalks will more readily adapt themselves to the bed of the riverthan would the naked log or timber 1, and therefore more eectually andquickly prevent the water from cutting under the edge of the chair-mat.When the mat is properly disposed and secured to the piling, asdescribed, sand-bags, rock, or equivalent material are dumped down onthe seat portion, and owing to the skeleton or open-work construction ofsaid seat portion it is impossible for the water to wash this ballastfrom position. The deposit of this ballast upon the seat portion forcesthe latter down upon the bed of the stream, and the water is compelledto find an outlet or passage between the wires lO'of the chair-back ofthis open construction in order that the water shall not be checked uptoo fast, because if this occurs it concentrates its pressure uponpossibly a weak portion of the jetty and breaks through or else passesaround and cuts another channel at an undesirable point. By theconstruction shown it is checked suihciently fast for all practicalpurposes without any possibility of the happening of the contingenciesspecified. The complete checking of the passage of the water through thechair-back may be facilitated by placing suitable materialsuch asdrift-wood, tree-branches, cornstalks, &c.-up against the front side ofthe chairback and lashing it thereto, if desired. Vhen the cross-jettyis completed, it is obvious that any tendency of the water to cut underthe same is prevented, because the immense weight of the ballast, thegravitative tendency of the chair-seat, and the immense pressure of thewater above force the chairseat pivotally downward as fast as the watercuts the sand from below it, as illustrated in Fig. 1. i

If the stream to be cross-jettied is about six feet deep, I'willpreferably employ a chairmat having a seat portion of about twenty feetin width more or less, and a back portion about eight feet in height,more or less. If this chair-mat was of' rigid construction, it isobvious that the deepening of the stream would render the matfunctionless; but it is obvious that the pivotal connection between theseat and back portions permits the former to settle downward as theriver gradu ally cuts under until ultimately it may a'ssume a positionalmost vertically pendent from the back portion, and consequently acacommodate an increased depth in the river of nearly twenty feet, itsusefulness, therefore, extending over a long period of service.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced anautomatic chairmat for cross-jetty work which embodies the features ofadvantage enumerated as desir able in the statement of invention, and itis to be understood, of course, thatI may resort to such changes as donot involve a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An automatic chair-mat, comprising a back portion, consisting ofuprights connected at their upper ends to a longitudinal log or timber,and provided with a longitudinal series of wires, and a seat portioncomprising a skeleton rectangular frame, pivoted to the uprights of theback portion and provided with intermediate cross-bars, and with longi=tudinal wires resting upon said cross-bars and attached at theiropposite ends to the end bars, substantially as described.

2. An automatic chair-mat, comprisingV a back portion, consisting ofuprights connected at their upper ends to a longitudinal log or timber,and provided with a longitudinal series of wires, and a seat portioncomprising a skeleton rectangular frame, pivoted to the uprights of theback portion andprovided with intermediate cross-bars, with longitudinalwires resting upon said cross-bars and attached at their opposite endsto the end bars, and with intersecting brace-wires which extend fromcorner to corner of said seat portion, substantially as described.

3. An automatic chair-mat, comprising a back portion having a top pole,and aseat por tion pivotally connected to operate in a ver tical planeto the back portion and including a back pole, and a twisted loopconnecting the top pole of the chair-back with the back pole of the seatportion, substantially as de-` scribed.

4. An automatic chair-mat, comprising a back portion, and a seatportionpivoted at Ico its rear edge to the back portion and adapted tion Withthe longitudinal tiinbers of the pil to swing in a. Vertical plane, incombination ing, substantially as described. 1o with piling againstwhich the back pole of In testimony whereof I affix my signature theseat portion and the top pole of the back in the presence of twowitnesses.

portion bear, and longitudinal timbers con- WILLIAM H. HARRELSONAneoting the poles at a suitable height and over- Witnesses:

lapping the top pole of the chair-backs, and M. R. REMLEY loopsConnecting the top pole of the seat por- F. S. THRASHER;

